Low-cost China export opportunity to be detailed at Lansing forum

LANSING – Michigan consumer goods companies interested in reaching new customers in the fastest growing economy in the world can learn about the new Pure Michigan Export Now pilot program through an informational forum taking place in Lansing on Wednesday, April 18.

“Through this workshop, Michigan companies will be introduced to Export Now’s unique combination of services and offered the opportunity to test their products in the China consumer market with limited risk,” said MEDC President and CEO Michael A. Finney. “The Export Now program is designed for consumer goods companies that want to test a foreign market but are not sure where to start or how to navigate through the various regulatory, logistical and cultural hurdles.”

The forum will take place from 10 a.m. to noon at the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce located at 500 E. Michigan Ave., Ste. 200, in Lansing. There is no cost to attend.

The workshop will include:

A detailed overview of the Pure Michigan Export Now program along with a question and answer session presented by Frank Lavin, CEO and founder of Export Now (former Under Secretary for International Trade at the U.S. Department of Commerce and former U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Singapore).

Discussion on the buying trends in China by Tomas Hult, Eli Broad Professor of Marketing and International Business and Director of the International Business Center at Michigan State University.

Information on how to get in the pipeline for the Export Now program and highlights on the Michigan Export program by MEDC Export Program staff.

To register for the workshop, visit here: https://www.regonline.com/calendarNET/EventCalendar.aspx?EventID=1087204.

Export Now provides an end-to-end IT and logistics solution that enables Michigan companies to sell on China’s e-commerce platform, www.tmall.com, as easily as selling on similar and familiar U.S. e-commerce platforms at home. Michigan companies will be able to participate in the first-ever mass marketing of Michigan goods to China in a single place through the Pure Michigan department in the online store.

With support from MEDC and Export Now, the first 100 Michigan companies to sign up for the program will pay only $1,000 and use the service for one year, two-thirds less than the usual $3,000 charge. Michigan companies will ship goods on consignment to an Export Now depot in California, where shipments are consolidated and forwarded to Export Now’s Shanghai distribution center. All companies pay a transaction cost with each sale.

To qualify for the pilot program, companies must:

Be an existing Michigan company that currently manufactures or produces a consumer product.

Verify that the proposed product or product family has already been sold successfully in the marketplace.

Demonstrate the capability to successfully run an export program by showing previous success in e-commerce, previous success in exporting, or simply by the size and maturity of the company.

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation, a public-private partnership serving as the state's marketing arm and lead agency for business, talent and jobs, focuses on helping grow Michigan's economy. For more on the MEDC and its initiatives, visit: michiganbusiness.org.